Along with many other wedding day traditions, bridesmaids’ style has also moved on. Gone are the days when everyone wore the same colour and style of dress. Now many brides recognise that the same design may not work on all friends and/or family who are bridesmaids.

There is another reason: brides are now opting for much larger groups of bridesmaids and most likely each will differ in shape, size and colouring – and they will all have an opinion on what they want to wear. An excellent solution is to dress your bridal party in the same colour but give each the option of a different style.

When bride, Jemima, came to see me to have her bridesmaid dresses designed and made she was accompanied by eight adult bridesmaids. Dressing them all was an exciting project but with one girl only just five feet, another 6 feet tall, one having recently given birth and another wanting to cover her shoulders for religious reasons it certainly was a challenge. Jemima decided upon two shades of blush pink. This was achieved using a blush chiffon with two different coloured satin linings underneath to give shades of pink and nude.

The bridesmaids were divided into two groups of four – pink for the fair skinned bridesmaids and nude for the girls with warmer colouring. The next consideration was style and together we decided on three different options: a low cowl back; a dress with cap sleeves; and one with a chiffon cape. These were all finished off with my signature hand-beaded deco style belts. Jemima and all her bridesmaids were very happy with their dresses and enjoyed being involved in the decisions. Although it was a subtle mismatch it was a coordinated look that gave the bridesmaids real style and standout.

“Victoria” bridesmaid dress – chiffon with antique gold sequin bodice by Elizabeth Bessant Couture

“Ema” bridesmaid dress – ivory chiffon with lace bodice by Elizabeth Bessant Couture

Amy’s bridesmaids wearing Elizabeth Bessant Couture blush bridesmaid dresses with applique and hand beaded detail

My advice would be to be careful when planning mismatched bridesmaids dresses and not to carry this idea too far. I recommend having at least one uniting factor, it could be the colour or different shades of one colour, fabric type or length of dresses. If you want each bridesmaid’s dress to be completely individual then perhaps they could all carry the same posy of flowers or wear a flower corsage on their wrist or a floral crown to ensure that there is a common creative thread that brings the group together.

If you would like advice on how to theme your bridesmaids’ dresses please email me at [email protected]